6 of the 7 Continents For The Budget Traveler: beaches

I'm sitting at a coffee bar at a gym in Cagliari in Sardinia, this is a place famous for the supercentenarians (the folks that live over 100), it is one of the largest lifespan communities on the planet. I drink a protein shake after a workout, and of course it's Italy, so they also have espresso there which I drink after. Me and the barista make some good conversation, and I have to ask... "So how do the people here live so long?" She gives a playful laugh and looks at me as she puts her hands up and does a 360 as if showing me the whole island from inside the café, "Haha, look at this place!". And with that simple answer, I knew she was right.

I knew from my research and friends that had been there that I wanted this to be a trip when it was warm, but I also wanted to avoid the peak of summer season. So the end of September seemed like the perfect time. Which it definitely was, but I also definitely still ran into some pretty crowded places that I cant imagine being there in the summer! I also wanted to see the whole island, or at least a lot of it. Some people like to travel slow, some like to do it more like a sampler of a little of everything. For me it really depends on the place, my schedule, etc. With that in mind, I decided to do the best of both worlds, hitting small towns and rural areas for a day or two, while I spend more time in the capital city of Cagliari. My trip looked like this:

-Cagliari 3 nights
-Alghero 2 nights with a stop to Bosa on the way
-Costa Smeralda 1 night
-Villasimius 1 night
-Cagliari 2 more nights

It could not have been better, but I will note, some of the days definitely started early to hit the road for the next town. Here's my quick tips for each place I visited:

Cagliari

The most likely place you will fly into, best for exploring the south, but the drive to Alghero is only 3 hours that included my stop in Bosa, stay as long as you like there of course. We will get to that.
At the start and end of the trip I stayed in Corso Vittorio Emanuale II. This was a great area for nightlife, bars, dining, any shopping that was needed, and really all access to the areas of the city I visited. I never took a train other than to the airport. Very walkable, safe at night, and fun.
Bastion San Remy, Centro Storico, and the Port were definitely fun, but the best highlight was day 1....
I highly recommend booking a day out on the boats, I did mine on Airbnb, sailing around the area, stopping at great swim holes, and of course local wine, and snacks. Best part of the Cagliari leg!

Bosa Road Trip On The Way To Alghero

Arrived!

Next was the road trip to Alghero, and I wanted to stop somewhere on the way to break up the monotony of the road. Bosa seemed like a beautiful place to check out. I didn't drive along the coast, so I will note the drive was fairly uneventful. I hit the road early with a goal of spending a couple of hours exploring Bosa, and being in Alghero while day light was still up.

Quick stop exploring the alleys of Bosa
Bosa is a beautiful little town to explore for a day or two. I arrived and parked outside the old city, which is a golden rule for driving into any old city. I made my way on foot to the river crossing into the city.
Getting up to the top to check out Castle Serravalle was well worth it. Excellent views, and a great castle to visit.

Alghero

The drive went as planned and I arrived in Alghero around 3/4pm. After driving through I can safely say the old city is no doubt where you want to be as is the case with a lot of parts of Italy. The closer to the water, the better.
The plan was to visit Neptune's Grotto one day, and explore beaches the next, but as travelers I always say we must plan on things not going as planned. Neptune's Grotto was closed due to high waves. I read this the morning I was set to go, and still drove there in hopes of change. When it didn't change I decided to spend the day exploring beaches. I would love to tell you I remember where I went, but I just played with the map, and went where it looked like it would make sense. I will say, some of these places... I may have gone off road a bit with the rental! Proceed with caution as this may not be allowed by the companies you rent from!

A quick gelato at the end of the day to celebrate a recovered mission

Costa Smeralda

The drive for this morning was going to be about two hours, but I decided to start having fun before checking into the hotel so I stopped at a town called Santa Teresa di Gallura for a full day tour by sea of Maddalena Archipelago.
The Boat tour! Just like Cagliari, this was the best way to see the coast, we stopped at multiple islands, this tour was long! Almost 8 hours or so, but well worth it. It included a full lunch, and of course drinks and refreshments. The water here was certainly the crystal blue waters I imagined when I booked the trip.
I read a lot about La Costa Smeralda, in particular how it was the one of the most expensive parts of Europe synonymous with millionaires, tycoons, CEO's, celebrities, etc. Luckily I was at the end of the season and didn't have any issue with this. I will also note, I didn't go to any fancy restaurants, or any night clubs. Prices may have been a little higher than the other cities, but certainly nothing that broke the bank.
I stayed at the Dolce Vita Hotel, which was easy to access nearby beaches on the coast, it also had a hot tub on the roof with a view of the sea, which after a long day on the boat was an epic ending to the night there.
As beautiful as the water is, and the beaches, I will note, if you come in summer and prices are crazy, I felt the same beauty in all the other beaches I had seen in Alghero and Cagliari, but of course happy I got to spend some time here.

Villasimius

The next day I had left open, I knew I wanted to check out the east coast to see more of the island, but I didn't know if I wanted to head back to Cagliari on a long driving day or stop somewhere on the way. With the magic of last minute google searches I found Villasimius.
This was the longest drive, about 4 hours. But I did route it on coast which certainly had some nice spots to pull over and enjoy the view.
My main interest in this last minute spot was scuba diving! I decided I had fun on the two boats rides, and beach days, it was time to see Italy underwater. My first dive in Europe. Certainly not the best dive I had ever done, but we met some nice Italian fish down there, and it was a cool and different thing to do. I had left super early to make it there for a 2pm ish dive.
I will also note this was where one of my best meals were. But as many non-professional travel bloggers, I can't recall the name of the restaurant so it will have to be in my heart only unless I ever go back and find it again.

Back To Cagliari

The next day was an easy one hour drive to Cagliari, I returned the rental car as I planned one spending the rest of the time in the city doing normal city tour things, as well as catching up on laundry, blogging, etc before heading off for a few days in Napoli and Rome, two cities that I had already been to, but was more than happy to return to!

I spent those last few days living life as a Sardinian, they say in Sardinia you are Sardinian first and Italian second! Some time on the beach, some time in the gym, the coffee shops, the restaurants, and of course the beautiful ports and the beautiful waters. As I headed to Napoli and the plane was taking off, I watched the landscape and the beautiful sea disappear as we ascended into the clouds. Before it faded I couldn't help but hear the playful voice of the barista... "Just look at this place..."

Enjoy my video on Tips For Driving In Sardegna!

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Como en los mares su color Olvida ya lo que paso Vamos arriba el salvador. Sigue adelante con valor Que luego viene lo mejor Con muchas ganas con amor Vamos arriba el salvador.....

"ARRIBA EL SALVADOR" - Los Hermanos Flores

It was spring of 2023 and I had an unexpected long weekend to go travel somewhere, 4 days to be exact. Not quite long enough for a big trip, but plenty for a great short trip. I am trying to visit every country in central America and immediately thought about which places would be a convenient flight from Phoenix where I didn't lose a day going to and from so the 4 day trip would be more or less 4 full days. I also have recently gotten Gold Status with United and am making a slight effort to keep the status, from there it was easy... A place long on my list to visit. El Salvador.

Unlike many places in Central America I have been to I actually had a few friends that had already been to El Salvador. Everyone recommended skipping the city and heading straight to the beaches, but I felt inclined to visit the city so left my last night and day open to see the capital... But I arrived in Playa Tunco, and everything changed. This place overwhelmed me, it took my heart, I decided really after a few hours that I'd be staying beach side the whole time instead. I don't regret it in the least, and can't wait to go back! Here's my go to travel advice for seeing this beautiful part of this beautiful country!

Although I am a huge fan of Airbnb, El Salvador is not there yet with Airbnb's, the best beach front spots were all hotels, definitely more expensive than staying in the capital, but still very reasonable compared to US prices.

Befriending a local
Uber will get you to and from the beach for about $40 each at the time of writing
US Dollar is the currency, there was a big talk about Crypto being the national currency and it even says it at many ATMs and Banks, but I however did not find a single vendor that accepted Crypto.
Day one will be used to settle down and get a quick lay of the land, you can walk the whole tourist neighborhood in about 30 minutes, it is a small beach town, and honestly maybe the best small beach town I have ever been to, go before the high rises get built up.
Sunset there is a cultural gathering, I get the feeling employers may let their workers shut business down for a quick 15 minutes, because when you watch the sunset everyone is there, but its a small town, so not over crowded, just simply beautiful, and a great time to pass with friends.

First Sunset

The signature rocks
Should you decide to partake in the nightlife there are many great beach front bars, a few bars on the strip too but when it gets later I'd go to the beach ones. You can sit beach side with bottle service for $20-$50.
Day two I opted for the beaches, some surfing, and checking out the town.
Local food and drink? Yes please!
It was time for an excursion next, for only $40 I booked a hiking tour to the Tamanique Waterfalls. I booked it when I arrived, and it is a little cheaper to do so, but based on how great it was, I'd recommend booking in advance in case it sells out.

My last day was meant to go to the city, but I ended up meeting some really great local people and instead decided to spend the last day on the beach. We did a whole lot of nothing, but bonding with the people, learning about their culture, drinking some cheap beer, eating some great food, and watching one last sunset with new friends was better than any city tour I could possible imagine.

I'll note safety because El Salvador is certainly not the safest place, but I had zero issues in the beach area of the trip, the Government has made a huge effort to make it safer and police and military were seen everywhere. Only safety concern is beer and shots are cheap, so you can get a hangover easy if you don't watch your drinking! Ok kidding, but it was safe. I went into this country thinking it was going to be a box to check off, a one and done like many amazing trips are. But as I started the article, it stole my heart. It's not a place that there's a million things to do, but it is a place to find peace for a few days, and a little bit of adventure of course too. Safe to say, I would definitely go back.